Lowering my FR-S - Guidance needed

[Rawdgir]

Hey everybody,

I am new to the forums and this is my first post. I bought a 2015 FR-S a few months ago and I would like to lower it. I am looking for a clean simple sleek look. I considered getting the TRD lowering springs but I am not really sold on them because they do not lower the car by much (correct me if I am wrong). I attached some pics of my ride as well.

My current rims are the Enkei Raijin (link below), 18's w/ offset
http://enkei.com/shop/tuning/raijin/

Please share what you have, send me pics of your fitment w/e specs (I would greatly appreciate this), and any suggestions/opinions are welcome.

Thanks everyone,

Roger

[Trueweltall]

Lowering your car 1 inch is going to be plenty with regards to wheel to fender gap. I'd be surprised if you could fit 3 fingers between the tire and fender afterwards.

[Tcoat]

RSR Super Down springs
1.5 inch (1.4 on paper) drop.
120,000 miles, all season in Canada driving on stock dampers with zero issues.
Highly recommended. The FIT is great.
http://www.ft86speedfactory.com/rs-r...l#.W2R5ynmWwdU

[Gunman]

How low do you want to go? Close up the gap? tuck tire? tuck nuts?

[candygram4mongo]

Howdy fellow Northern Californian and welcome to the boards. I don't post much here, But I did back on the MR2 forums. Let me be the first of many to suggest the search feature, the most powerful tool of any auto forum.

Next. What are your goals? Is it all about the looks or the performance? We don't judge, but we need to know what compromises you are willing to accept. Ok, some will judge.

What is your budget? A set of springs may set you back $300, but a good set of coilovers are closer to $2K to the sky's the limit.

There is a reason a good set of lowering springs will only get you an inch or less drop. Anything past that is going to put you into coil bind, bad geometry and riding on the bump stops. In just springs, you will find people here liking the RCE Yellows, Eibach Pro Kit and the TRD's.

As for coilovers, that is a novel it itself. Good luck. Happy seaching.

[Rawdgir]

@Gunman
Close up the gap mostly. There can be a finger or 2 space between the tire to fender.

[Rawdgir]

@Tcoat
Thank you. The fitment you have looks awesome. I'll get these looked into.

Appreciate it man!

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by Rawdgir

@Tcoat
Thank you. The fitment you have looks awesome. I'll get these looked into.

Appreciate it man!

Yes the FIT is good.
You could run some spacers if you want the wheels a bit more flush but I like the FIT more inside the wheel wells for driving on snow and gravel without throwing crap up the sides of the car.

[Leonardo]

Welcome to the forum.


After reading most of the spring threads on this forum, IMO 1" (or less) drop springs are the best to pair with stock shocks.


There are a few answers about springs with a drop lower than 1" and the increase of deterioration for stock shocks in relation to hard driving characteristics. Like: Track, AutoX, & canyon runs.

Some guys DD springs lower than 1" and report no issues. (I imagine that they are driving less aggressively compared to guys that have experienced issues quickly, but I have no idea)


If you want lower that 1" & budget allows: Upgrading the shocks to Koni's or Bilstein in addition to getting springs lower than 1" would be a good option.


I would look into RCE yellow, TRD, or Eibach pro kit springs.


I have had Eibach prokit springs and stock shocks for almost 70k miles now. I drive my car hard. The shocks are only starting to feel like they have some wear. My commute is 25 miles of twisting rural highway devoid of any other vehicles and full of potholes. I like the prokit springs because: The ride is a little stiffer but still comfortable for DD, they were $235 shipped, the car does not look TOO high anymore, and I don't scrape my bumper on even the steepest driveways.


IMO, the gap between my tire and fender (see sig) is acceptable now to the eye compared to stock. This was really all I was trying to fix.

GOOD LUCK!

[humfrz]

Originally Posted by Rawdgir

Hey everybody,

I am new to the forums and this is my first post. - any suggestions/opinions are welcome.

Thanks everyone,

Roger

Well, hello, Rawdgir and I'll add my welcome -

I think your car looks fine the way it is and lowering it isn't going to help a daily driver much at all.

When is the last time someone said to you "your car needs to be lowered, it would look better?"

OR

"your car could take corners faster if it were lowered."

OR

"if lowered, you would be able to feel the road better if you could feel each and every pebble in the road?"


No, my FR-S isn't lowered - it rides rough enough the way it is and I already have a hard enough time getting in and out of it.


humfrz - has spoke -

[Leonardo]

Originally Posted by humfrz

Well, hello, Rawdgir and I'll add my welcome -

I think your car looks fine the way it is and lowering it isn't going to help a daily driver much at all.

When is the last time someone said to you "your car needs to be lowered, it would look better?"

OR

"your car could take corners faster if it were lowered."

OR

"if lowered, you would be able to feel the road better if you could feel each and every pebble in the road?"


No, my FR-S isn't lowered - it rides rough enough the way it is and I already have a hard enough time getting in and out of it.


humfrz - has spoke -

Honestly, ALL THE TIME! Before my car was lowered my friends had JOKES! But I have owned a dozen lowered cars, so it's expected... I also have ripped the bumper off of a few... So this time only went for a super mild 1" drop. You might say that I am learning...

[humfrz]

Originally Posted by Leonardo

Honestly, ALL THE TIME! Before my car was lowered my friends had JOKES! But I have owned a dozen lowered cars, so it's expected... I also have ripped the bumper off of a few... So this time only went for a super mild 1" drop. You might say that I am learning...

Welp, I'm not a stranger to lowering cars - back-in-my-day, when we lowered a car - we LOWERED it!





humfrz

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by Leonardo

Welcome to the forum.


After reading most of the spring threads on this forum, IMO 1" (or less) drop springs are the best to pair with stock shocks.


There are a few answers about springs with a drop lower than 1" and the increase of deterioration for stock shocks in relation to hard driving characteristics. Like: Track, AutoX, & canyon runs.

Some guys DD springs lower than 1" and report no issues. (I imagine that they are driving less aggressively compared to guys that have experienced issues quickly, but I have no idea)


If you want lower that 1" & budget allows: Upgrading the shocks to Koni's or Bilstein in addition to getting springs lower than 1" would be a good option.


I would look into RCE yellow, TRD, or Eibach pro kit springs.


I have had Eibach prokit springs and stock shocks for almost 70k miles now. I drive my car hard. The shocks are only starting to feel like they have some wear. My commute is 25 miles of twisting rural highway devoid of any other vehicles and full of potholes. I like the prokit springs because: The ride is a little stiffer but still comfortable for DD, they were $235 shipped, the car does not look TOO high anymore, and I don't scrape my bumper on even the steepest driveways.


IMO, the gap between my tire and fender (see sig) is acceptable now to the eye compared to stock. This was really all I was trying to fix.

GOOD LUCK!

I do not track nor canyon carve but I do drive through Detroit a lot! If the stock dampers can take that they can take anything.


At my 1.5ish inch drop the biggest issue I face is speed bumps and slopped driveways.

[humfrz]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

I do not track nor canyon carve but I do drive through Detroit a lot! If the stock dampers can take that they can take anything.


At my 1.5ish inch drop the biggest issue I face is speed bumps and slopped driveways.

OK, I got the picture - but, my question is, what were you doing down there?




humfrz